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Star Wars: The Force Awakens
PSA: There is no post-credit scene. (I didn't think there would be, but I waited because you never know.) Overall I really loved it. Massive spoilers behind the cut.
Of course Han's death devastated me, but as soon as I (a) figured out that this was less an homage of the first movie and more an almost scene-by-scene remake, albeit in somewhat different order, with Han's rapscallion past replaced by Finn's forced association with the, um, damn, why can't I remember the Empire's new name? and (b) it was revealed that Kylo Ren was Han and Leia's son, I knew that Han would be playing the role of Ben Kenobi in this film, as in fact he did. :-(
There were a few moments when I was hoping maybe Chewie would be the noble death, but when I saw how much screentime Han was getting compared to Leia and Luke, I was sure it would be him.
Crying forever.
OK, other than that: I really, really loved it. As I was saying to the friend I saw it with, it really felt like this was made for us, the generation that saw the original movie at the age of 8 or so (dozens of times, some of us, though my family didn't have that kind of money when I was 8). Every beat of it that was homage just felt like fanservice, from BB8 hiding the secret message, to the piece of junk Rey didn't want to escape in being the Millennium Falcon, to Maz Kanata's bar that was so reminiscent of the Cantina on Tatooine, to the first appearances of Hanand Chewie and Leia. So moment by moment it was just a joy to watch.
And wow, I really, really love Rey. To me she feels both like a combination of the best bits of Luke and Leia while still really being her own character, and I love how she holds out the hope that her family will return in the face of impossible odds, and how instinctively kind she is to BB8, and how amazingly competent she is. (Do we want her to turn out to be a Skywalker or not? Part of me hopes she is and part of me hopes she isn't--I can't decide).
And Finn was amazingly sweet and good for someone basically raised from birth to just be an obedient cog in the darkside machine. (Still can't remember the new name of the bad guys!) I love that he gets the Han Solo reluctant-hero schtick, yet is also amazingly resourceful (pretty damn good with a light saber for someone who never saw one before!) and has good intel and good ideas and steps up to save the universe even though he only wants to save his new friend. I do like that they've decided to redeem at least one Storm Trooper. It might have been nice to have made him a little more complex--like maybe an actual evildoer before turning good, just to complicate things--but on the other hand that wouldn't match his sweet and slightly goofy persona that I really liked.
While watching it, I thought it was perfect. Afterward, I thought maybe it could have steered a little bit further from the overarching plot of episode 4: I mean, desert planet, robot with secrets, escape with a scoundrel and a wise man (or two), defeat the Death Star, have some light saber battles--I said to my friend at the end I wasn't sure if it was an homage or outright plagiarism. (Though being JJ Abrams, it wasn't enough to blow up just one planet with the Death Star--it looked more like 6 or 7). I hope, having established the premise and characters, the next one is more than just a revised Empire Strikes back!
Of course Han's death devastated me, but as soon as I (a) figured out that this was less an homage of the first movie and more an almost scene-by-scene remake, albeit in somewhat different order, with Han's rapscallion past replaced by Finn's forced association with the, um, damn, why can't I remember the Empire's new name? and (b) it was revealed that Kylo Ren was Han and Leia's son, I knew that Han would be playing the role of Ben Kenobi in this film, as in fact he did. :-(
There were a few moments when I was hoping maybe Chewie would be the noble death, but when I saw how much screentime Han was getting compared to Leia and Luke, I was sure it would be him.
Crying forever.
OK, other than that: I really, really loved it. As I was saying to the friend I saw it with, it really felt like this was made for us, the generation that saw the original movie at the age of 8 or so (dozens of times, some of us, though my family didn't have that kind of money when I was 8). Every beat of it that was homage just felt like fanservice, from BB8 hiding the secret message, to the piece of junk Rey didn't want to escape in being the Millennium Falcon, to Maz Kanata's bar that was so reminiscent of the Cantina on Tatooine, to the first appearances of Hanand Chewie and Leia. So moment by moment it was just a joy to watch.
And wow, I really, really love Rey. To me she feels both like a combination of the best bits of Luke and Leia while still really being her own character, and I love how she holds out the hope that her family will return in the face of impossible odds, and how instinctively kind she is to BB8, and how amazingly competent she is. (Do we want her to turn out to be a Skywalker or not? Part of me hopes she is and part of me hopes she isn't--I can't decide).
And Finn was amazingly sweet and good for someone basically raised from birth to just be an obedient cog in the darkside machine. (Still can't remember the new name of the bad guys!) I love that he gets the Han Solo reluctant-hero schtick, yet is also amazingly resourceful (pretty damn good with a light saber for someone who never saw one before!) and has good intel and good ideas and steps up to save the universe even though he only wants to save his new friend. I do like that they've decided to redeem at least one Storm Trooper. It might have been nice to have made him a little more complex--like maybe an actual evildoer before turning good, just to complicate things--but on the other hand that wouldn't match his sweet and slightly goofy persona that I really liked.
While watching it, I thought it was perfect. Afterward, I thought maybe it could have steered a little bit further from the overarching plot of episode 4: I mean, desert planet, robot with secrets, escape with a scoundrel and a wise man (or two), defeat the Death Star, have some light saber battles--I said to my friend at the end I wasn't sure if it was an homage or outright plagiarism. (Though being JJ Abrams, it wasn't enough to blow up just one planet with the Death Star--it looked more like 6 or 7). I hope, having established the premise and characters, the next one is more than just a revised Empire Strikes back!